After more than a decade of planning, fundraising, and construction, the Obama Presidential Center officially gets its moment today (June 18).
The Grand Opening Ceremony takes place this morning at John Lewis Plaza on the Center's South Side Chicago campus, marking the formal dedication of the 19.3-acre site before it opens to the public tomorrow, June 19. The ceremony will livestream globally beginning at 11 a.m. CT / 12 p.m. ET, and you can watch it right HERE.
Tickets to attend in person sold out, but the celebration was built to be shared. Ticketed guests unable to get into the ceremony itself will watch on a big screen at a watch party at Midway Plaisance Park near the Center, and the livestream will also be featured prominently on the Obama Foundation's homepage.
The lineup is stacked. Performers confirmed for the ceremony include Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, U2's Bono and The Edge, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, Christina Aguilera, Marc Anthony, Common, The Roots, and Tems. Actress and producer Marsai Martin will also take part, alongside special remarks from Obama Foundation board chair Marty Nesbitt and CEO Valerie Jarrett.
An invocation will be led by Pastor Joel Hunter and Joshua DuBois. Both President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are expected to deliver remarks.
"The Grand Opening Ceremony will be unlike any other — filled with music, performances, and hope," Jarrett said in a statement announcing the lineup. "We hope to inspire people everywhere to believe in their power to bring change home."
The Obama Foundation revealed the performer lineup earlier this week through a playful Instagram post simulating a group chat, with Barack Obama "adding" each artist as a contact.
The $850 million project has been years in the making, with the Center serving as both a museum and the first fully digital presidential library, alongside a Chicago Public Library branch, an NBA-regulation basketball court, a fruit and vegetable garden, and a public playground. While Museum tickets for opening weekend have already sold out, the rest of the 19.3-acre campus opens free to the public on Friday (June 19).
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